


All I Want For Christmas

by MsWriterPerson



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents, Gen, Growing Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27258070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsWriterPerson/pseuds/MsWriterPerson
Summary: THIS IS A REPOST OF A PREVIOUSLY DELETED WORK. (Original was written by me)This is a Christmas story following Keith throughout his life
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	All I Want For Christmas

**Age: 7**

Keith crept through the hallway, carefully avoiding the creaking floorboards as he made his way to the stairs. The house, dimly lit with the early light of dawn, illuminated the Christmas decorations, the strings of holly and ribbons hung from the banister as Keith peeked out to the Christmas tree on the first floor. His heart leapt as he saw a small pile of gifts neatly stacked under the glow of the Christmas lights, and he rushed back down the hall to his father’s room, leaping on the bed.

“Pop! Pop! Santa came!” Keith exclaimed, shaking his dad awake, bouncing with glee. “Hurry up!” His father rubbed his eyes as Keith darted back down the stairs, examining the gifts, each one wrapped with care and tied with red bows, Keith’s favorite color. Keith hopped with anticipation as his father made his way downstairs, wielding a video camera.

“One second, son, let me get this thing going.” Keith’s dad fiddled with the camera as Keith pulled a gift into his lap, waiting for the all clear. “Looks like Santa brought you a lot this year.” He steadied the camera on Keith, pressing the record button. “Alright, go for it!” Keith immediately ripped apart the wrapping, frantically unveiling the boxed fire-truck underneath.

Keith gasped in delight. “It looks just like yours!” Keith admired the bright red truck, holding it up for the camera. “It’s so cool! The ladder goes up too!”

“Santa must’ve really been paying attention.” Keith’s dad laughed as Keith rushed for the next present, ready to go. Gift after gift, Keith hurriedly revealed all of his new toys, as Keith’s dad filmed the spectacle smiling along with his son. Finally, Keith sat around his presents, gazing over them with contentment, wondering which one he should play with first, fiddling with his new spaceship toy. He glanced up, noticing his dad was still filming.

“Looks like you’ve been a very good boy this year, but I think there’s one more present under the tree.” Keith crawled over, searching under the tree, seeing a small red bag back in the corner. He pulled it out carefully, reading the tag.

“To: Keith, From: Mom”

Keith’s heart raced as he rushed the bag over to his dad. “It’s from Mom!” Keith exclaimed, opening the bag. Inside, a small purple hippo plushie stared back up at him. “It’s a hippo.” Keith whispered, wondering how she knew they were his favorite.

“I guess Santa helped make sure her gift made it to you this year.” His dad explained, Keith threw his arms around his dad.

“I miss her.” He whispered sadly, clutching the hippo and his father close.

“I miss her too, son.” His father sighed. “And I’m sure she misses us.”

“Is she coming home soon?” Keith asked quietly.

“I don’t know, son.” Keith’s dad ruffled his hair. “But I’m sure she’s out there somewhere, wishing she could be here. So for now, when you miss her, just give this hippo a squeeze.” Keith nuzzled his dad’s chest, gazing at the hippo, the violet color striking Keith as oddly familiar.

“Hey Pop, if I’m good do you think Santa will bring Mom home?” Keith asked, his father wrapping him in a hug.

“I don’t know if Santa can manage that, but you can always try asking.” Keith sighed, feeling safe in his father’s arms.

**Age: 10**

The younger kids darted into the living room, crowding the presents under the tree as the care workers handed out each gift to the right child. Keith stood behind with the older children, watching on and waiting their turn.

“It’s the same thing every single year. Everyone gets the same cheap present.” The boy on Keith’s right complained, watching the children unwrap their small gift.

“Well there’s a lot of kids here, it’s probably hard for Santa to get a lot of gifts here.” Keith explained knowingly, the boy staring at him wide-eyed.

“Wait, you don’t mean you actually…” He murmured before the teen girl beside him elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“Exactly. Keith is right. There’s a lot of kids here so this is the best Santa can do. Right, Josh?” She gave the boy a nasty glare before shooting a friendly smile to Keith. Keith awkwardly smiled back, wondering what that whole scene was about.

In the few months he had been at the home, he had struggled to find his place in the cliches and groups of friends that had already formed. And so despite being surrounded by kids just like himself, he found himself far more alone than ever. He missed the warmth of the Christmas scene he shared with his father, the presents from Santa all gathered under the tree as his father filmed the entire morning, catching every precious second. Keith felt his heart drop as he thought that this was his first Christmas without either of his parents, leaving an empty void in his chest.

The care worker walked over to their small group, handing each of them a small box. Keith’s was wrapped in a pleasant bright red wrapping paper, and Keith opened it, finding a small plastic space ship inside. Keith smiled to himself. Every year, without fail, Keith had managed to get a spaceship from Santa. It was a small comfort of normality, a welcome sense of tradition. Satisfied, Keith snuck back to his bunk.

He reached under his bed, pulling out his box of personal belongings, double-checking to make sure the coast was clear. Sure that he was alone, he opened the box, pulling out his old purple hippo, holding it tightly. Even after all this time, he could never bring himself to throw it out, even as he knew he was getting too old for plush toys. The small toy brought him a sense of safety and comfort, fond memories of home. Keith glanced down at his knife he had successfully managed to hide from the caretakers, the odd symbol on it glowing faintly. These two items were the only things he had ever gotten from his mother, and he still held onto the faint hope that one day Santa would bring her back as a present one Christmas morning.

**Age: 15**

Keith woke up, the small tree in his Garrison bunk now with two presents under it. Keith looked around, his roommate shifting in his sleep. Keith crept quietly over, picking up one of the boxes from under the tree.

“To: Keith, From: Santa”

Keith smiled to himself, pulling off the red ribbon, gently pulling off the wrapping. Another spaceship, this time a DYI model set. Keith marveled at the rare expense of the present as the doors opened, Shiro strolling in with a smile. Keith’s roommate jolted awake, leaping upright and saluting Shiro.

“At ease, boys.” Shiro chuckled. “I just came to wish you a Merry Christmas.” Shiro’s gaze fell on Keith and his model. “What’s this?”

“Oh,” Keith felt slightly embarrassed. “I got a present from Santa.” He explained, fiddling with the box.

“Well, you have been doing pretty well in training lately, I guess Santa noticed.” Shiro observed, ruffling Keith’s hair. “And you were worried Santa was going to skip you this year.” Shiro turned to Keith’s roommate. “It looks like Santa brought you something too.” Keith roommate anxiously nodded, taking the other box from under the tree.

Keith smiled at his present, feeling even better now that he was able to show Shiro. How long had it been since he felt so included during Christmas? Shiro threw his arm around him. “Well cadets, I heard they’re throwing a huge breakfast feast in the mess hall, so you better hurry up and get ready before all the good stuff is gone!” Keith laughed, sending Shiro off with a playful shove. Keith’s roommate sat on his bunk, across from Keith, opening his present revealing a fountain pen. Keith gasped, remembering something he needed to give Shiro, pulling out a card from his drawer, racing out of the room.

“Shiro, wait up!” Keith called, Shiro turning back to him.

“What’s up, Keith?” He asked, concerned. Keith handed him the card.

“This is for you. As thanks, for you know, everything.” Keith explained, suddenly nervous. Shiro opened the card, unfolding a drawing of himself on a hoverbike, a small message written in the corner.

“Thanks for believing in me. -Keith”

Shiro blinked in disbelief several times, unsure of what to say. “You don’t have to keep it if you don’t like it, I didn’t have the money to get you anything else.” Keith’s heart beat quickly, unable to bring himself to look at Shiro’s face. Shiro threw Keith into a hug.

“I’m going to frame this and put it up on my wall so I can see it every single day.” Shiro answered happily. “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten. I’m going to treasure it forever.” Keith awkwardly tensed up, surprised by Shiro’s reaction, before relaxing into Shiro’s arms. “Thank you, Keith.” Shiro murmured softly. Keith nuzzled Shiro’s chest.

“Thanks, Shiro.” Keith whispered quietly.

**Age: 18**

Keith cuddled in his bed, the smell of dust and old wood filling the cold air, keeping his eyes shut tight. Three months since Shiro had gone missing, and Keith ran away from the Garrison. The calendar on his wall marked with the date, December 24th. Keith couldn’t bring himself to try and decorate the small shack he called home, celebrating Christmas by himself was just too much to bear right now. He still had his one last hope, he pulled his small hippo plush in close, making one quiet wish.

“Santa, please bring Shiro back.” Keith’s eyes flooded with tears as he prayed as hard as he could, hoping somehow it would work. The effort and crying lulling him into an uneasy slumber.

Keith blinked in the morning light, the small hippo still close to his chest. The silence of the shack was all he needed to know. Santa hadn’t come, and Shiro wasn’t there. Keith felt his last hope fade out into nothing, leaving only an empty husk. His mind drifted back to the memories of Christmas, of his father’s smile as he filmed Keith, of the kids at the home, of Shiro ruffling his hair. He looked down at the small hippo, finally coming to terms with the truth. Santa wasn’t real, each and every gift came from people around him who cared about him, even the small little plush toy he’d always treasured, a sign of people protecting him. But now, no one was left, everyone was gone. Keith cried into his pillow, feeling vastly more alone than he ever had before.

**Age: 19**

Keith tried to pretend like he couldn’t hear the shuffling and shifting of the others in the hall, rushing back and forth between their rooms and the Christmas tree in the lounge that they had managed to put together from things in the Castle.

“Guys, be quiet! You’re gonna wake up Keith!” Pidge was trying to keep her voice down, but Keith chuckled at how loud she was being.

“I’m trying, this is heavy!” Lance answered back, “Why are we doing all this anyway?”

“Because Keith still believes in Santa.” Hunk chimed in. “He’s precious and needs to be protected.”

“Okay, I think that’s the last of it.” Shiro announced, “Now we go back and wait for Keith to wake up.”

Keith grinned to himself listening how far everyone had gone, his eyes shifting over to the small pile of gifts he had gotten for everyone in the corner. He never found the right time to tell Shiro he didn’t believe in Santa anymore, so Shiro really went all out this year, making all of them write letters to the North Pole. Allura was really on board with the idea, and even wrote one herself, though her letter was mostly an inquiry on how his “ship” was able to travel so quickly. Keith shifted in bed, trying to wait a fair amount of time before venturing outside. The castle sat in silence for a while, and Keith finally decided to make his move, with his presents in hand.

The small “tree” was a collection of metal parts Coran didn’t need, decorated with tiny pieces of the Balmaran Crystal. The presents sat in a huge mound, brightly wrapped in various colored wrappings and bows. Keith smiled to himself, setting his gifts with the others under the tree, before walking down the hall, into Shiro’s bunk. He could tell immediately Shiro was awake, facing the wall, and Keith gently shook his shoulder.

“Shiro, wake up, Santa’s been here.” Keith smiled as Shiro shifted up, quickly following Keith as they woke the rest of the team, each one doing their best to act natural. They all shuffled into the lounge, Shiro taking charge of handing out the gifts to their recipients.

Pidge went first, unwrapping her gifts from “Santa”, followed by Allura, Lance, Hunk, Keith, Coran, and finally, Shiro. The room was filled with laughs and jokes as everyone marveled at their gifts, exchanging hugs with their presents. Keith sighed contently, the warmth of the scene reminiscent of his Christmas with his dad so many years ago. He remembered the small hippo from back then, probably still sitting safely in his shack back on Earth. He missed it, but he knew he didn’t need it anymore. He wasn’t alone now. Satisfied with the exchanges, Shiro began to work to clean up the mess of wrapping paper scattered around. Keith quickly leapt up to help him, noticing a small envelope taped to Shiro’s back.

“Hey, Shiro, one sec, you’ve got something stuck on you.” Keith pulled it off, noticing that it was a letter, addressed to him.

“What is it? Did you get it?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, I got it.” Keith answered, opening the letter. His heart stopped as he read the note inside.

“Sorry I couldn’t bring him back in time for Christmas last year. -S. Claus.”

It couldn’t be real, Keith felt his breath hitch as he thought back to his Christmas wish he made in the shack. His wish did come true, and he felt tears start to fall as he realized Santa was not only real, but he heard him on that Christmas Eve night a year ago.

“Keith? What is it? What’s wrong?” Shiro’s voice was filled with concern, and Keith folded the note, smiling back up at Shiro.

“Just a Christmas miracle.” Keith answered happily.


End file.
